Daily Catholic Lectio
Saturday, 30 March 2024
Holy Saturday – Easter Vigil
Gen 1:1-2:2. Exod 14:15-15:1. Eze 36:16-17, 18-28. Rom 6:3-11. Mk 16:1-7
Who will roll back the stone?
We are participating in the Easter Vigil, which is the mother of all vigils.
“And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain” (cf. 1 Cor 15:14). According to these words of Saint Paul, the resurrection of Christ is the foundation stone for our faith. According to Mt 28:15, the resurrection of Christ has been received as a rumour.
Is Christ’s resurrection the foundation of our faith? or a rumour? Is Christianity built on Jesus’ resurrection? or on a rumour?
There is no CCTV footage to verify Jesus’ resurrection. All through history, three traditions have bear witness to Jesus’ resurrection:
(a) ‘Resurrection appearance tradition’ – according to this tradition, in Biblical and extra-biblical literature, there have been records narrating the appearance of the Risen Lord to various individuals and groups. These narratives describe the persons to whom the Risen Lord appeared and mention how the Risen Lord possessed a kind of body that would permeate even the closed doors.
(b) ‘Creed tradition’ – In the early Christian Church, anyone who is newly baptised must make a profession of faith. The formula of the profession was “that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures” (cf. 1 Cor 15:3-4). This formula asserts the resurrection of the Lord.
(c) ‘Transformation tradition’ – after the resurrection, the disciples undergo a total transformation. Those who were afraid became courageous preachers. They bore witness to Jesus’ resurrection. Their fear, anger, and hesitation were replaced with faith, courage, and forgiveness.
Of the readings that we heard from the Old Testament, three are important. The reading from Genesis tells us how our world humanity came from nothingness, chaos, and darkness; in Exodus, the people of Israel became liberated; and through the valley of dry bones, life is now assured.
In the gospel reading, Mark records that a few women went to Jesus’ tomb to perform the burial rites. “Very early when the sun had risen, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb,” thus begins the gospel reading. The rising sun and the first day signify the beginning of a new thing. The things of old are now transformed.
The women had a question in their hearts: ‘who will roll back the stone for us?’ These women had witnessed the burial of Jesus. They were travelling to the tomb of Jesus with a question: ‘Who will roll back the stone for us?’ They had presumed that they would need the assistance of someone to open the tomb so that they could enter and perform the duties.
Stone is anything that blocks our way. During the moment of the creation of the world, void and nothingness were stones; the Red Sea seemed like stones for the people of Israel; the Babylonian exile was a stone.
Often, we too feel that we have been blocked by stones or that someone will open the tomb for us. But we are faced with a surprise. The stone is rolled back. God rolls back the stone for us. Human history has not been afraid of any stone because it is built on the rock of Christ (cf. 1 Pet 2:4). Everyone must come in front of the tomb to identify our stone so that we can remove it.
Discouragement is the stone that blocks our faith. When things fall out of place, we are led into despair, depression, and delusion. We pile stones to bury our faith. The angel identifies whom we are searching for: Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified. Do we really search for the crucified today? Another stone that blocks our hearts is sin. Sin traps us into doing what is easier than doing what is right. Why do we allow sin to block our way?
The women are being sent with a command to announce that Jesus is going ahead of them to Galilee. Galilee is the opposite pole of Jerusalem. Jesus called his first disciples in Galilee. Jesus takes his apostles to their origins.
The Bible is full of people and communities that emerged from the tomb. The resurrection of Jesus must become a personal life-experience, as Saint Paul claims: “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection” (cf. Phil 3:10).
Three lessons from the gospel reading: (a) God will roll back the stone for us. (b) God will change the course of our lives. (c) We will be asked to restore, to reset, and to be resilient.
Fr. Yesu Karunanidhi
Archdiocese of Madurai
Missionary of Mercy
Yesu Karunanidhi 
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